The popularity of lottery games around the world, from the UK National Lottery to games in the most remote parts of the Earth, makes them a popular target for attempts at special feats and tricks, and the Singapore Lottery is no exception. The Asian country is gearing up for a special multi-day event in which two high-profile magicians will use a number of undisclosed methods to arrive at the winning numbers for a major lottery game.

The event is set to draw plenty of attention as the prediction will be noted down and encased in a series of complex and ostensible tamper-proof casings, with a final seal being placed on the contraption’s outer lock and a signature from the local lottery authority. The prediction, inside its various trappings, will be suspended in a public area for six days preceding the announcement of the winning lottery numbers, and will be checked only after the game has been completed.

Though there are many who are skeptical about the magic couple’s chances of striking a win, others are enthusiastic about the challenge. Whether the feat is successful or not, the team stands an excellent chance of being watched with keen eyes as they attempt one of the most dazzling and potentially rewarding tricks in the book. The sealing will took place on the 22nd of January, and interested citizens will be able to view the prediction on display until the lottery’s draw on the 27th.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Though most people who play the UK National Lottery on a regular basis are likely to have a preferred set of numbers for trying their luck at jackpots, there are some numbers that are necessarily picked more often than others. Whether players choose to work with the so-called luckiest numbers in the lottery or stay the course with their favorites, checking in on the numbers that were drawn the most –and the least– over the course of the last year can yield some fun surprises. The results of 2009’s luckiest and unluckiest lottery numbers have been released, and statistics for the past 15 years have also been compiled, tempting many to examine whether their picks were among the most likely to win.

For 2009, the most frequently-drawn numbers in the UK National Lottery were 39, 9, 31, 23, and 36. Typically considered to be a lucky number with superstitious significance, 7 tied with 15 for the unluckiest numbers of the year, followed by 14, 22, 29, and 12. Since the game began 15 years ago, the luckiest numbers as a whole have been 38, 23, 31, 11, 43, and 25. The least lucky numbers over the course of the UK lottery’s operation have been 20, 41, 13, 16, 21, and 15. Here’s to hoping those on the lottery’s least-drawn list enjoy some extra attention and help create plenty of new millionaires in the coming year.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Many UK National Lottery players and fans of other games have particular methods they prefer for picking numbers, but the traditions in some parts of the world pertaining to picks may come as quite a surprise. In South Africa, players have typically enjoyed winning methods enhanced by “muti,” or traditional medicine. Recently, however, these traditions have come under fire as conservationists and other concerned parties point to the potential for extinction of South African vulture species.

How do vultures figure into the picture? The birds are trapped, poisoned, and otherwise poached in a bid to obtain their heads, which are sold to traditional healers and other clients. The brains are extracted, dried, and mixed with mud into cigarettes, which are then smoked –and enjoying such a smoke is said to disclose the winning lottery numbers to whoever inhales. The practice may be shocking to some who are fare more used to a bit of math or perhaps some superstition to help in the selection of their numbers, or may simply seem like a bizarre idea from faraway lands to others. But to those hoping to help the vultures enjoy a lengthy tenure in South Africa, the practice of poaching vultures and harvesting their brains for the sake of lotto number visions is a decidedly negative one. If current trends continue, conservationists expect the birds to be extinct within twenty to thirty years –with not too many millionaires made meanwhile.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Like all lottery players, UK National Lottery participants are sometimes accused of being superstitious, and though many likely do have their own compulsive habits and rituals surrounding their game play, plenty of others enjoy lottery games without any claims to superstition. During Spain’s recent “El Gordo” drawing, responsible for doling out some €2.3 billion this year, highlights included several clusters of numbers that proved some players were getting into the swing of superstitious numbers.

One of the most popular picks was tied to one of this year’s biggest news stories –that of singer Michael Jackson’s death. The date on which he passed away, 25609, comprised a trendy lottery number pick, with scores of mourning fans likely hoping that the King of Pop would grant them a special holiday gift post-mortem. Among the other popular choices was 66666, a number associated with superstition for ages.

Number clusters are often shared between families and friends for the massive “El Gordo” draw, with many Spaniards buying into multiple syndicates in the hope that at least one will prove rewarding. Special sequences such as birthdays, anniversaries, height or weight amounts, or even esoteric mathematical formula results are likely to make their way onto the tickets of plenty of players each year, though there are inevitably some winners who describe their picks as entirely random or spur-of-the-moment. Would you consider your own number picks superstitious?

Popularity: 7% [?]

Winning Lottery Methods

Popularity: 5% [?]